Circular knitting machine



June 16, 1942.

E. CRQMMIE 2,286,469

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 31, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet l v 15 21 '11 27 m 26 Z T 6 19 51 I gwuexwbo b Earl Cromm/ June 16, 1942. E. CROMMIE 2,286,469

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed July 31, 1941 s Sheets-Sheet s Patented June 16, 1942 UNlTD GERCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Earl Crommie, Waterville, N. Y., assignor to Waterville Textile Mills, Inc., Waterville, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 31, 1941, Serial No. 404,914

12 Claims.

The invention relates to certain new and us ful improvements in knitting machines of the circular, spring beard needle type, and it primarily seeks to provide a machine in which the individual feed units are greatly simplified in construction and arrangement, thereby materially reducing machine construction, set up and operation costs and enabling the use of a greater number of units on a cylinder of given circumference than has been possible heretofore, and also the operation of the machine at greater speeds than have been practical heretofore, and also enabling the knitting of fabrics of better quality than those customarily produced.

An object of the invention is to provide a circular knitting machine in which no parts which function in the knitting of fabrics are mounted within the circumference of the circular needle carrier and in which all such parts are disposed outside said circumference whereby a greater number of feed units may be assembled on the knitting machine, thereby making it possible to materially increase the speed of operation and consequently the production capacity of the machine.

A further object of the invention, is to provide a circular knitting machine with a greater number of feed stations, this being achieved by presenting the apparatus to the outer circumference of the circular needle carrier so that the feed can while at the same time allowing the use of circular needle carrier of greatly reduced diameter thereby decreasing the over-all size of the machine and the required space therefor.

A still further object of this invention, is to provide a combination spring beard presser roller and stitch landing and cast-off wheel which is supported adjacent each feed station of the circular knitting machine, whereby the needle beard will be pressed inwardly to allow the lower portion of the combination landing and cast-off.

wheel to land the stitch over the beard so that the upper portion of the wheel will cast the stitch off the needle, as the needles during their circular motion are acted on in succession.

With the above and other objects in view which will more fully appear, the nature of the inven tion will be more clearly understood by following the description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

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In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective View illustrating one of the feed stations showing the manner in which the combination beard closing roller and'landing and cast-off wheel is assembled relative thereto.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view showing diagrammatically a portion of a needle circle of a spring beard needle circular knitting machine and illustrating the manner in which the combination beard closing roller and landing and cast-off wheel is presented thereto.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary outside face view showing the angular position of the beard closing roller and stitch landing and cast-off wheel with respect to the needle circle and needle carrier.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating an example of an arrangement of feed units about and exteriorly of the needle circle.

In the drawings, the reference character 5 designates the base of a circular knitting machine having the usual central spindle for rotatably supporting a needle carrier 6. The needle carrier is formed of a ring 1 to which is bolted a series of curved clamping plates 8 removably held in position on the ring I by screws or bolts 9.

Clamped between a vertical flange of the ring 1 and the clamping plates 8 is a lead ring Ill in which is embedded a series of equl-distantly spaced needles ll having spring beards l2 which are normally held open.

The circular base frame 5 is provided with an arcuate slot l3 for receiving bolts M which extend through and secure bracket arms I5, said arms being longitudinally slotted as at it. Two such arms are included in each feed unit assembly as shown in Figure 1.

One of the bracket arms l5 supports a vertical standard 1'! adjustably mounted in the arm slot it, and this standard fl is slotted, as at I8, to vertically-adjustably support a tubular housing 99 in which is slidably mounted a spring pressed plunger 2%. The outer end of the plunger is provided with a socket member 2i having an extension 22 at the end of which is mounted a transverse spindle extending through the hub 23 of a sinker burr 24 thereby to rotatably mount said burr. The sinker burr 2% is presented to the needles II in the manner well known in the art and is adapted to feed thread or yarn under the beard from a feed finger 25 which is alsoconnected to the standard i7 and is provided at one end with an angular portion 26 having a thread guide 21 while the opposite end is slightly curved and extends tangentially to the sinker burr 24 in the well known manner.

The upper portion of the vertical standard I1 is slightly inclined inwardly and upwardly as at 28 and is provided with a longitudinal slot 29in which is vertically-adjustably mounted a cloth wheel spindle 30. One end of the spindle is threaded as at 3I for receiving a securing nut 32 so that the spindle may be held in an adjusted position relative to the inclined extension 28.

The spindle 33 mounts an offset portion 33 to which is secured a bearing 34 for supporting the hub 35 of a cloth push down disc 36 which has its periphery presented to the inner circumference of the ring of needles I I.

As is well known, the sinker burr 24 cooperates with the needles I I and feeds the yarn from the feed finger 25 under the open beards I2 of said needles. The other parts hereinbefore mentioned also are mounted and function in a manner well known in the art.

Essentially, the invention comprises a vertical standard 31 mounted on one of the bracket arms I 5, being adjustable along the slot it in said arm. The vertical standard 3'! is provided with a depending threaded extension projecting through the slot I6 and anchored in place by a nut or the like. A bracket arm 38 is carried by the vertical standard 3'! and is vertically slotted as at 39 for slidably receiving a spring pressed plunger 40 which has one end extending into a tubular housing 4I provided with a bracket 42 verticallyadjustably secured to the bracket arm 38 by means of an anchoring bolt 43.

Attached to the free end of the spring pressed plunger 40 is a collar 44 held in place by a set screw and said collar is provided with an arm 45 offset from the axis of said plunger and supporting a transverse bearing member 43 from which projects a reduced shank or stud portion 41 for freely-rotatably supporting the combination beard closing presser disc and stitch landing and cast-off wheel shown in detail in Figures 2 and '3 and generally designated 48. The free end of the shank 4'! is received in a socket 49 formed in the wheel unit 48 and extending into the hub nut extension 50 thereof.

The combination wheel 48 is formed to provide a needle beard engaging and closing disc portion 5| which is slightly smaller than the over-all dimensions of the stitch landing and casting-off portion of the wheel. The stitch landing and casting-off portion of the Wheel is disposeddirectly beside the beard closing disc portion 5! and includes a series of angularly extending equidistantly spaced wings or blades 52 which are adapted to engage between the needles I I in the manner illustrated in Figure 2. 'The combination wheel unit is presented to the needle ring I I angularly at approximately 45 degrees so that the V-shaped wings 52 of the stitch landing and casting-01f portion will extend between the needles II as shown in said Figure 2 and the wings 52, in this position, will be substantially perpendicular by reason of their inclination. The wheel unit 48 is thus rotated by this engagement with and between the travelling needles.

After the desired number of feed stations have been set up in their proper adjusted positions and the yarn initially applied to the needles in the well known manner, the yarn will thereafter be fed to the needles ll by the sinker burrs 24 of the individual units in the usual manner. At the position of each push down disc 35 the yarn on the needles is pushed downwardly by said disc and at the same time, thread or yarn is fed under the needle beards. The combination wheel portion 5| then closes the needle beards I2 to allow the wheel wings 52 to land the stitch over the needle beards in the contacting area of the beard closing surface 5| of said combination wheel.

Continued travel of the needle ring causes the combination wheel wings 52 to cast the stitches off the needles.

There may be any number of feeding beard closing and stitch landing and cast-off stations and. feed units located about the periphery of the needle ring II, and said stations may be placed equi-distantly apart with respect thereto.

It is to be understood, that the form of the invention shown and described is merely for the purpose of illustration and that various fabrics may be produced by altering the shape of the beard closing disc portion 5| of the combination wheel unit 48 so that only alternate needle beards will be closed to produce the desired fabric design.

The advantages of providing machine structures which are formed and operated in the manner hereinbefore described are many and varied. It will be apparent that the devices utilized in performing the knitting operations and disposed in spaced units outside the needle ring II are much less in number than in the units provided heretofore. It will also be apparent that in a machine constructed as herein described it is unnecessary to mount any of the devices essential in the performance of the knitting operations inside said needle ring. Heretofore it has been necessary to mount many unit parts inside the needle ring; for example, a lander burr and a horizontal arm therefor, a cast-off burr and a horizontal arm therefor, a lander gripe, and a cast-off gripe. All of these parts are eliminated from the space within the needle ring in the present machine. By reason of the simplification of the feed units employed in the present machine, it is possible to place at least twice the number of feed units about the exterior of a given size of cylinder as heretofore, due to the fact that the simplified feed unit setups take up less space at the circumference of the cylinder. This simplified structure also makes it possible to set up the present machine in much less time than has heretofore been necessary in setting up machines of this nature for the making of identical fabrics. It will be apparent also that the present machine can be operated at much greater speed than was possible heretofore, and in consequence production on the present machine is multiplied over what was attainable on previously known and more complicated machine structures.

In Figure 4 of the drawings an attempt is made to illustrate diagrammatically the manner in which the feed units can be arranged exteriorly of the needle ring or circle so as to entirely eliminate from the space within said needle ring or circle all devices utilized in performing the knitting operations. In this figure the rotor which carries the circle of needles II is designated R, the rim to which the needles are aifixed being designated NR. Ten feed stations are indicated by the equi-distantly spaced radial lines FS and it is to be understood that at each of these stations one of the feed units illustrated in detail in Figure 1 is mounted. Only one of these feed units is shown diagrammatically in Figure 4, said unit being therein generally designated FU, but it is to be understood that an identical unit will be placed exteriorly of the needle circle II at each of the feed stations FS. As previously described, each feed unit includes the sinker burr 24, the thread feed finger 25, the cloth disc 35, and the combination beard closing and stitch landing and casting-01f wheel generally designated 48. As a result of the provision of the simplified construction herein disclosed, it is possible to plaqe ten feed units about a nineteen inch needle cylinder, whereas with previously known structures of this type in which it was necessary to place some of the devices inside the needle circle an effort to place ten feed units would require the use of at least a thirty inch needle cylinder.

It is of course to be understood that the details of structure and arrangement of parts may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. In a circular knitting machine, the combination with a rotary needle cylinder carrying a circle of spring beard needles, of a sinker burr coperating with the needles for laying-in yarn, and a combination beard closing and stitch landing and cast-off wheel unit located adjacent the sinker burr and including a beard closing disc portion and a spaced blade equipped stitch landing and casting-off portion engageable with and having rotation imparted thereto by said needles.

2. In a circular knitting machine, a rotary cylinder carrying a circle of spring beard needles, a plurality of feed units all disposed outside and opposed to said needle circle and each including a sinker burr cooperating with the needles for laying-in yarn, and a combination beard closing and stitch landing and cast-off wheel unit located adjacent the sinker burr and including a beard closing disc portion and a spaced blade equipped stitch landing and casting-off portion engageable with and having rotation imparted thereto by said needles.

3. In a circular knitting machine having a rotary needle cylinder carrying a circle of spring beard needles, a sinker burr cooperating with the needle circle for laying-in yarn, a cloth push down disc located above the sinker burr, and a combined beard closing and stitch landing and cast-off wheel mounted adjacent the sinker burr at the outer periphery of the needle circle.

4. In a circular knitting machine having a rotary needle cylinder carrying a circle of spring beard needles, a yarn sinker burr for feeding yarn under the needle beards, a cloth push down disc mounted above the sinker burr, means outside and opposed to the outer periphery of the needle cylinder for closing the needle beards and means. carried by the first mentioned means for landing and casting ofi stitches formed on the needles.

5. In a circular knitting machine having a rotary needle cylinder carrying a circle of spring beard needles, a yarn sinker burr cooperating with the needles to feed yarn thereto, a cloth push down disc presented to the inner periphery of the needle circle, a beard closing disc located adjacent the sinker burr and a stitch landing and cast-off wheel attached to and rotatable with the beard closing disc.

6. In a circular knitting machine having a rotary needle cylinder carrying a circle of spring beard needles, a yarn sinker burr cooperating with the needles adapted to lay yarn in the needle circle in stitch formation, a cloth push down disc having its periphery presented to the inner circumference of the needle ring, a spring beard closing disc mounted adjacent the sinker burr at the outer periphery of the needle ring and a stitch landing and cast-off wheel attached to and rotatable with the beard closing disc cooperating with the needle circle.

7. In a circular knitting machine having a rotary needle cylinder carrying a circle of spring beard needles, a yarn sinker burr cooperating with the needles adapted to lay the yarn under the needle beards, a cloth push down disc having its periphery presented to the inner circumference of the needle circle, a beard closing disc mounted adjacent the sinker burr on the outer periphery of the needle circle and a stitch landing and cast-off wheel formed integral with the beard closing disc.

8. In a circular knitting machine, a rotary cylinder carrying a circle of spring beard needles, a yarn sinker burr for feeding the yarn to the needles, a cloth push down disc mounted above the sinker burr, means at the outer periphery of the needle cylinder for closing the beards of the needles and angularly formed wings disposed beside the beard closing disc and engageable between needles for landing and casting olT stitches 9. In a circular knitting machine including v. needle cylinder which has a circle of spring beard needles and is devoid of any stitch forming instrumentalities supported within said needle circle, and a plurality of feed units all mounted outside the periphery limits of said needle circle, each said unit comprising a, thread guide, a sinker burr cooperating with the guide and the needles for laying-in yarn, a cloth disc, beard closing means and stitch landing and cast-off means.

10. In a circular knitting machine including a needle cylinder which has a circle of spring beard needles and is devoid of any stitch forming instrumentalities supported within said needle circle, and a plurality of feed units all mounted outside the periphery limits of said needle circle, each said unit comprising a thread guide, a sinker burr cooperating with the guide and the needles for laying-in yarn, a cloth disc, beard closing means and stitch landing and cast-01f means, said beard closing means and said stitch landing and cast-off means constituting a unitary rotor.

11. In a circular knitting machine including a needle cylinder which has a circle of spring beard needles and is devoid of any stitch forming instrumentalities supported within said needle circle, and a plurality of feed units all mounted outside the periphery limits of said needle circle, each said unit comprising a thread guide, a sinker burr cooperatting with the guide and the needles for laying-in yarn, acloth disc,beard closing means and stitch landing and cast-ofi means, said beard closing means and said stitch landing and cast-off means constituting a unitary rotor including equi-distantly spaced blades engageable between the needles thereby to cause said rotor to rotate as the needles move therepast.

12. A combined beard closing and stitch landing and casting-off wheel unit comprising a beard closing disc having a smooth cylindrical peripheral edge portion presented for engaging and closing the beards of spring beard needles, and a spaced blade equipped stitch landing and castingoff portion the blades of which extend in V-shape beyond said disc peripheral edge portion in equidistantly spaced relation.

EARL CROMlVflE. 

